New Delhi: Delhi University’s non-teaching staff have been on protest for over a month now, but the administration has yet to take concrete action. Employees under the banner of the Delhi University and College Karamchari Union (DUCKU) have been staging a sit-in protest at North Campus since May 14, demanding better working conditions and long-pending reforms.
The protesting staff, which includes lab attendants, library attendants, and other non-teaching personnel, are demanding permanent employment for those who have served in contractual positions for over a decade, some for as long as 15–20 years. They allege that despite years of service, they continue to receive lower pay and are denied the dignity, job security, and benefits of permanent staff.
Other key demands include the representation of non-teaching employees in the University’s Executive Council and College Governing Bodies, extension of WUS Health Centre membership to all college employees, and grade pay revisions along with timely promotions for various non-teaching roles.
DUCKU General Secretary Ravinder Kumar Pande, speaking to Millennium Post, said, “There have been 4–5 meetings with the administration so far. While they have verbally agreed to many of our demands, no official written order has been issued. That’s our core concern.”
One particularly contentious issue on which not even verbal agreement has been made till now and disagreement continues, is the exclusion of college employees from WUS Health Centre membership. Until recently, a monthly deduction of ₹225 from salaries entitled all staff, including those from colleges, to free medical services and medicines through the Health Centre. However, this facility has now been restricted to only permanent university employees, leaving hundreds of college employees without access to essential healthcare, despite continued deductions from their salaries.
“We have been protesting at Gate No. 4, and the dharna will continue until our demands are met,” said General Secretary Ravinder Kumar Pande.